Tea auctioneers log out IBM software Tea Board of India to replace IBM electronic auction software due to bugs. BY OUR TECH CORRESPONDENT 30 October 2006: Logged out! Tea Board of India has decided to replace the software developed by IBM for electronic auction with a new one. The decision comes following complaints from the auctioneers who said the software was found to be faulty. With this, Tea Board of India has given shape to a special panel which has been mandated to shortlist new vendors who have already responded to the expression of interest invited by the board. The panel is headed by Indian Tea Association chairman and Tata Tea managing director Percy Siganporia, said reports from Kolkata. The companies who have responded to the Tea Board EoI comprise NCDEX, Metaljunction, NSE.IT and MMTC. The NSE.IT is a subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange. Thee companies will now be asked to furnish technical and financial bids for there software and hardware required for the tea auction across the country. Though IBM found itself in sticky territory when the faultiness of the software was pointed out, auctioneers agree that it was doing well at Coonoor. It may be recalled that the Indian Union Ministry of Commerce had suggested introduction of electronic auction as it was supposed to be more transparent and more suitable for better price discovery. Consultancy firm Accenture was behind the suggestion and had recommended e-auction to the Tea Board. BY OUR TECH CORRESPONDENT